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The Old Stone House is a historic inn and museum of rural life located in Slippery Rock, PA. John Brown built the Old Stone House in 1822 as a stagecoach stop and tavern. It was built to accommodate business from the newly constructed Pittsburgh to Erie Pike, a busy highway that carried traffic northward from the forks of the Ohio River. Travelers staying at the Old Stone House mingled with locals anxious for news from other parts. The house’s “tavern room” was a lively place of conversation, merriment, and hearty food. In the evening, travelers bedded down in simple and often uncomfortable quarters in the house’s upper rooms.

In the early 1980s, State Senator Tim Shaffer, working with the administration of Slippery Rock University, arranged a lease agreement that would allow the university to administer the site while the museum authority in Harrisburg retained ownership. Eventually, SRU President G. Warren Smith recognized the potential of the property for furthering the educational mission of the university, and in 1999 SRU took over ownership of the site.

​​In 2014 The Stone House Center for Public Humanities (CPH) was created to provide unique opportunities for the western Pennsylvania community to celebrate cultural heritage, foster innovative educational experiences and highlight the humanities’ relevance to contemporary life. The CPH regularly holds community events at the Old Stone House, such as art exhibitions, Community Archaeology Day, and Live Like A Stoic Week. It is also a meeting place for our Community Advisory Board.